Heart function can be significantly impaired when a heart valve is not functioning properly. Potential causes for heart valve malfunction include dilation of an annulus around the valve, ventricular dilation, and a prolapsed or misshapen valve leaflet. When the heart valve is unable to close properly, blood within a heart chamber can leak backwards, commonly referred to as regurgitation, through the valve.
Valve regurgitation may be treated by replacing or repairing a diseased valve, such as an aortic valve. Surgical valve replacement is one method for treating the diseased valve, but other less invasive methods of treatments are also available to many patients. Minimally invasive methods of treatment, such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), generally involve the use of delivery devices that are delivered through arterial passageways or other anatomical routes into the heart to replace the diseased valve with an implantable prosthetic heart valve. There is a desire to reduce the profile of the devices used for delivery and implantation to minimize trauma to blood vessels during device delivery and implantation. Though in a crimped state during device delivery, the valve leaflet of a prosthetic heart valve can still significantly contribute to the device profile. Accordingly, there is a need to reduce to the valve leaflet thickness of prosthetic heart valves.